Tag: Christ

RUNNING THE RACE OF FAITH

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Shelby G. Floyd

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How many of you have participated in the Indianapolis Mini-Marathon? How many of you would like to? How many of you plan to run some day? That would be a great challenge would it not? In order to run in that race it would require a lot of training in order to be in good shape to finish the race.

I was involved in track when I was in high school. I ran the 220 yards, 440 yards, and 880 yards race, which was a half-mile. I remember that I was always able to finish the race. Sometimes I won the blue ribbon, sometimes the red ribbon, and sometimes not so good. But I always finished the race.

Today I speak to you about “Running the Race of Faith.” This is a good time at the first of the year to consider a subject like that. Everybody loves sports. Many times we talk about sports fanatics. The word sports “fan” came from the word “fanatics.” A fanatic is someone who does unreasonable things in regards to sports. But a fan is someone who does reasonable things in support of his favorite team. Therefore it is a good thing to be a fan and support the team that we love. Continue reading “RUNNING THE RACE OF FAITH” →

FIRST THINGS FIRST

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Shelby G. Floyd

First Things First

In order to have a successful life, every person must have some priorities. Near the end of the Sermon on the Mount Jesus taught his disciples that God demands first place in their lives. There is not one person that gives God first place in every area of his life. Therefore in order to pursue this goal, we must grow spiritually and do our very best to give Christ top priority every day.

In Matthew’s account of the gospel Jesus said to his disciples, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6: 33). When we analyze this statement there are several things that are very obvious: Continue reading “FIRST THINGS FIRST” →

EYE COVENANT

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Shelby G. Floyd

Eyes Covenant

In the Old Testament we read about one of the greatest men who ever lived, and that was Job. Job was a very good man. He served God with all of his heart. And yet God tested him. And while he was in the midst of his suffering and trial he had to defend his integrity before his friends. In his defense Job said in reply to Bildad the Shuhite, “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustily at a girl” (Job 31:1). That’s what we are going to talk about today. If you haven’t made a covenant with your eyes you need to do so like Job. Job said, “I made a covenant with my eyes.” A covenant is an agreement and when you make an agreement you should live up to it and keep it.

Sexual immorality was a big problem in ancient times and is even a bigger problem today, especially in America. Sexual immorality causes great pain both to the perpetrators and to the innocent people who are not involved. There are perhaps three or four reasons why a person might want to go out and commit sexual immorality. One could just be their ego. Some people are like that. Another reason might be that person’s inner need for sharing and affection, even though it is unlawful. And a third reason might be just because they have the raw lust of the flesh. Sexual immorality is so common in our society today that we excuse it and we accept it. And it is all because man tends to glorify the body and to belittle the spirit that is within that body. Continue reading “EYE COVENANT” →

SEEK GOD OVER GOLD

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Shelby G. Floyd

God over Gold

Our Pilgrim ancestors came to the shores of America in search of freedom to seek and serve God according to their conscience. Others came seeking gold and material wealth. While God has given us all good things to richly enjoy, he wants us to put the spiritual above the material world.

About one hundred sixty-seven years ago when gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill in California, it caused the stampede of the Gold Rush. Many found fortunes and spent it all in worldly pursuit. The same thing happened on the Klondike at Dawson City, Canada and on the golden shores Nome, Alaska in 1898-1900. Today the worship of wealth is called American Greed. Many who have trusted in their gold have been wiped out by the present economic crisis. If one does not have God in his life what is left but despair and death? Continue reading “SEEK GOD OVER GOLD” →

TEST EVERYTHING

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Shelby G. Floyd

1-thessalonians-5-21-22

God has created mankind with the power to choose between good and evil. From the beginning, that choice must be made. Our world is made up of both good and evil. For the most part, good predominates over evil. Whether good wins over evil in our personal life depends upon how we make our choices.

Paul in writing to the Thessalonians urged them to make the right choice: “Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22). We observe three things from this statement:
(1) Test everything;
(2) Hold on to the good; and,
(3) Avoid every kind of evil. Continue reading “TEST EVERYTHING” →

REGENERATION AND RENEWAL

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Shelby G. Floyd

The-Goodness-of-God-Blog-Banner

Near the close of Paul’s brief letter to the young preacher Titus, he penned these words:

Titus 3: 4-7
4 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
NKJV

SINFUL MEN NEED SALVATION

First we notice why salvation is needed by the human race. In verse three Paul describes the way people lived without God: “For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another” (Titus 3:3). That is not a pretty picture and deep down most people would not like to live like that. Sin is universal, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Therefore, every person that is accountable for their attitude and actions needs salvation from sin.

GOD’S LOVE IS THE BASIS OF SALVATION

Lost sinful man was without hope until the kindness, love, mercy and grace of God appeared to man in the person of Jesus Christ. If man is to be saved or pardoned from his sins, God must save him. When the Christ was born it was stated that his name would be JESUS—Savior, “for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). God’s part in the salvation of man is the large part: “But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us…” (Titus 3:4-5). While no work of man’s righteousness can be the basis of salvation, this does not mean that man has no part in his salvation. Continue reading “REGENERATION AND RENEWAL” →

MAD, SAD OR GLAD!

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Shelby G. Floyd

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David, the second king of Israel wrote most of the Psalms. These Psalms indicate that David was a very spiritually minded man of God. For example he wrote:

Psalms 122: 1
I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go into the house of the LORD.”
NKJV

David was glad when someone said, “Let us go into the house of the Lord.” Some today may be sad or even mad, instead of glad, when it is time to go into the house of the Lord. Continue reading “MAD, SAD OR GLAD!” →

EXPOSING FALSE TEACHERS

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Shelby G. Floyd

wolf-in-sheeps-clothing

About 65 A.D., the apostle Peter warned the Christians in his day to be aware of false teachers coming into their congregations: “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you” (2 Peter 2:1). Since this is the case, how do we go about identifying these false teachers? We are not left in the dark for there are certain obvious signs of their devious ways. Continue reading “EXPOSING FALSE TEACHERS” →

LIVE WITHOUT REGRET

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Shelby G. Floyd

Drifting-Away

All of God’s people should live our life in such a way, that when we come to the end, we can look back without regret. This means that we must dedicated to the Lord, study his word and rely upon divine wisdom to make the right choices. Life goes by fast and how many times do we hear someone say, “If I had my life to live over again I would have done such and such.” John Greenleaf Whittier wrote,

For all sad words of tongue and pen,
The saddest are these,
‘It might have been’.

“It might have been” represents those who have neglected the great salvation offered by Christ.

In the book of Hebrews the people are warned not to neglect what is important:

Hebrews 2:1-3
Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him.
NKJV

If we will heed what is said and not neglect our duty, then we can look back without regret and not think about what “might have been.”

No doubt Esau was filled with remorse and regret after he realized he sold his birthright for a bowl of soup. Esau was a profane person and was filled with regret, “For you know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he carefully sought it with tears” (Hebrews 12:17). No doubt he looked back and wondered again and again, “what might have been.”

Every one of us has a sphere of influence for Christ and the church. We have opportunities to do good for those out of Christ and for those especially who are in the household of God (Galatians 6:10). Let each one of us zealously work to bring our friends and acquaintances into Christ.

Copyright © 2015 Shelby G. Floyd, All Rights Reserved

Shelby G. Floyd

Shelby G. Floyd
Heartland Church of Christ
1693 West Main Street
Greenwood, Indiana 46142

A TIME TO LAUGH

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Shelby G. Floyd

life-is-better-when-youre-laughing-quote-3

Don’t all of you enjoy a congregation where people have a smile on their faces instead of a frown? I do not think any of us enjoy being around grouchy and grumpy people. It pulls us down. To have a good laugh lifts us up. I have been preaching about 54 years, and I have never preached on the subject of laughter. So I felt I needed to do that.

It is revealing when you go to the Bible and start doing research to find out the Bible has a quite a bit to say about laughter. In Ecclesiastes 3: 4 Solomon says there is “A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.” Have you ever seen anyone that would cause you to laugh? If you will go to the mall you will see all kinds of people, wearing all kinds of outlandish outfits, and sometimes it is just fun to go over there and sit down and have some good laughs, because people are funny. Solomon says: “There is a time to weep and a time to laugh.” That tells us that God wants us to be cheerful. He does not want us to go around frowning and mourning, being sad and weeping and wailing all of the time. There is a time to do that, but not all the time!

Someone said: “Laugh often, dream big and reach for the stars.” “A laugh is a smile that bursts out.” “Laughter is the spark of the soul.” Someone else said, “Laughter is an instant vacation.” We all need some vacations. We can take that kind of a vacation everyday if we laugh a little bit. God wants us to be joyful and glad. Even God has a sense of humor. We say that because when we raise our children we find out what our parents went through, and now God is allowing us to go through the same thing. We say God has a sense of humor because we are experiencing what our parents experienced with us. As we have heard it said, “It is not a sin to grin.” Some people think you should never smile, laugh, or grin in the church. It is not a sin to grin, but it is a sin to worry yourself to death. It is better to grin, be happy, smile and laugh than to be filled with worry and die a premature death. Continue reading “A TIME TO LAUGH” →